The telecommunications industry has evolved from the provision of conventional telephonic services to a continuously and rapidly expanding range of communication services. Telecopier communication has become commonplace on a world-wide basis as well as personal computer based messaging networks. The relative simplicity of telephonic communication has led to the development of sales and service organizations wherein the conventional retail point of sale at a store or the like has been supplanted by a telephone operator or order taker and the ubiquitous personal credit card. Generally, the activities of the telephone order taker increasingly have been lessened or supported in the interest of time-based efficiency by Automatic Voice Response Systems (A VRS) wherein computer controlled, menu-driven voice communication is developed with the customer. With these developing communication activities, the point of sale is moved from a retail store to a communications center, and, in effect, to the home.
Customization of the home telephone service has commenced to occur. For example, home security systems are provided wherein the outputs of intrusion sensors as well as medical or similar emergency alarms are transmitted telephonically to centralized monitoring services with the use of auto-dialing or with dial dedicated telephone numbers such as "911". Services and sales organizations now seek to further improve these home communications techniques through the development of more efficient interaction between the home user and the personal services entity. This calls for simplicity in initiating communication, as well as to the automation, where feasible, of customer specific information, including the elimination of as many steps and procedures as possible on the part of the customer in concluding a transaction. The number of services available with this automated or semi-automated communications approach are extensive in scope incorporating, for example, travel services, banking, stock brokerage functions, retail sale operations in conjunction with television programs and the like.
A need for simplicity in the carrying out of communication particularly becomes apparent in such fields as "up and about" and "latchkey" monitoring. With the former service, elderly or disabled people living alone or in a secluded region dial a monitoring center at an appointed time during the day. A software based system functions to alert monitoring personnel for human intervention in the absence of such an incoming call. The latter, "latchkey" service monitors the arrival of a child at an empty home following school. A similar response action takes place in the absence of an incoming fall from the child within a preselected window of time. The procedure for placing such calls should be quite simple. The caller should not be required to recall a telephone number to be dialed, nor be called upon to carry out the physical act of dialing. Further, information concerning the call and caller needs to be conveyed without effort.